And when was the last time someone from outside of Ethiopia or Kenya won the marathon or 10,000? Granted those are two of the most historic running events in the Olympics, but they certainly don't pass the "internationally competitive" sniff test. Excluding American football or Scottish dwarf tossing, fine, but baseball is hugely popular throughout much of Asia, the Caribbean, and Central/South America and has a significant following in lots of other places as well (IIRC there's an actual pro league in Israel).

The Israeli League folded after one season due to some weirdness in the finances and the lack of fields and local interest. made for a good documentary, though. Apparently the DR has pretty good connections with Israel for jobs, and to see the Dominican kids and some of the non-Jewish Americans get to go to the Christian holy sites was moving. The Duke was hired as the baseball guy and talent assembler and did a decent job.

Netherlands, Italy are the biggest Euro countries, but I think the game is played in France, Germany, and Spain as well. Didn't Derby used to play on the Baseball Grounds?

The Israeli League folded after one season due to some weirdness in the finances and the lack of fields and local interest. made for a good documentary, though. Apparently the DR has pretty good connections with Israel for jobs, and to see the Dominican kids and some of the non-Jewish Americans get to go to the Christian holy sites was moving. The Duke was hired as the baseball guy and talent assembler and did a decent job.

Netherlands, Italy are the biggest Euro countries, but I think the game is played in France, Germany, and Spain as well. Didn't Derby used to play on the Baseball Grounds?

why does that even matter- does anyone outside of Scandinavia actually participate in the biathlon?

And when was the last time someone from outside of Ethiopia or Kenya won the marathon or 10,000? Granted those are two of the most historic running events in the Olympics, but they certainly don't pass the "internationally competitive" sniff test. Excluding American football or Scottish dwarf tossing, fine, but baseball is hugely popular throughout much of Asia, the Caribbean, and Central/South America and has a significant following in lots of other places as well (IIRC there's an actual pro league in Israel).

Not sure about the marathon, but a Brit and an American came in 1-2 in the 10K.

IIRC, a big reason why baseball isn't in the tournament is because MLB didn't want to allow their best players to take two weeks off, or shut down the sport like hockey does every 4 years, to go play in the tournament. The IOC basically said, ok then, we won't host the sport.

I know, which is a little bizarre to me, I guess mens soccer doesn't need the star power to draw the crowds. Even more interesting is that the women's tourney isn't an under 23 tourney. For baseball, I thought I heard somewhere that the IOC was pushing for the top players in the sport, like basketball and hockey and MLB said no.

Heh, ok you got me, my apocryphal point about the 10k itself fails the sniff test

But really, pro players have only been in the Olympics for the past 20 or so years, right? Wasn't the 'dream team' at the Barcelona games and the men's ice hockey tournament at Lillehammer the first time pros played in Oly team sports? (Unless of course one counts the "amateur" teams the USSR and Czechoslovakia, etc put out in the 70s and 80s).

Not sure about the marathon, but a Brit and an American came in 1-2 in the 10K.

IIRC, a big reason why baseball isn't in the tournament is because MLB didn't want to allow their best players to take two weeks off, or shut down the sport like hockey does every 4 years, to go play in the tournament. The IOC basically said, ok then, we won't host the sport.

Well, soccer, hockey, and hoops were established international sports, while baseball is a newbie. Also, up until 1972 - 1984, international pros could not compete with American collegians. I think after 1988, the US said, f this, we are sending our best to prove no one is equal to us, and the Olympics and FIBA said, great for our ratings.

A friend (who is a bit of a fatass) was snickering about the women's racewalk...I'll bet he could run any way he wanted for one block and any of those women would still beat him walking. Hell, they would probably beat him even if he were on a bike. What a cool sport.

A friend (who is a bit of a fatass) was snickering about the women's racewalk...I'll bet he could run any way he wanted for one block and any of those women would still beat him walking. Hell, they would probably beat him even if he were on a bike. What a cool sport.